


Not the Belle of the Ball

by miera



Series: JB Holiday Tropes [4]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Holidays
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25602061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miera/pseuds/miera
Summary: Brienne attends the Lannister New Year's Eve gala. Picks up directly after "Not Cinderella."
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Series: JB Holiday Tropes [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1608259
Comments: 24
Kudos: 140





	Not the Belle of the Ball

**Author's Note:**

> Happy sort-of Christmas in July? New Year's Eve is close enough, right? I wanted some light fluff to comfort me as we await the JB Exchange fics.

Sansa and Margaery's support carried her through the drive into the city, walking into the hotel and reaching the threshold of the massive ballroom where the party was happening. Margaery had been right. Everything was covered in Lannister colors, the walls, the tablecloths, the women draped in red or gold dresses. Brienne stuck out like a sore thumb, and she already got enough of that due to her height. Thank God she hadn't let Margaery talk her into the high heels.

Still, she kept her spine straight and her shoulders back, trying to project confidence, until she spotted Jaime. He was wearing a tuxedo, likely custom tailored to him, which was patently unfair, and he was smiling at an adorable pixie of a blonde, who had her hand on his arm.

Brienne's stomach clenched as though she'd just swallowed an ice cube. The girls' jokes about romance and holiday magic echoed in her head. Of course this was the case. Of course she had been right all along. This wasn't a romantic date, just a polite invitation from a client. Nothing more.

_That's more than enough_ , she told herself firmly, tightening the grip on the beaded clutch purse Sansa had loaned her. It was full of business cards, for this express reason. Whatever fairy tales girls like Margaery and Sansa might imagine, Brienne was a realist, and she had come prepared. _This is a business opportunity, and you are going to be gracious and grateful for it._

Besides, as Margaery had said, she got to go to a really swanky party on New Year's Eve with a bunch of rich potential customers. There was no downside here, she wouldn't let there be one.

Jaime had caught sight of her; he could hardly miss her even in the crowd of arriving guests. A genuine smile broke out on his face and he waved. That was something. He was happy to see her. 

She made her way over to him and the pixie. Upon closer inspection the blonde seemed rather young for him. It was almost a cliché, a rich, attractive man with an uncomfortably young girlfriend. Jaime introduced her briefly as "Pia" with no other explanation and then immediately took Brienne off in search of his brother. "He'll be leaving soon, I know he wants to meet you."

Brienne had done enough Googling of the Lannister family that Tyrion being a dwarf did not come as a surprise. He was sitting at a table sipping champagne when Jaime drew Brienne up and introduced them. There was a mischievous glint in Tyrion's eyes that reminded Brienne a lot of his brother.

"Please, sit down, otherwise I'll end up with a permanent crick in my neck." Brienne sat, sharing a particular look with Tyrion. She hadn't realized until they were face to face that he had probably gotten the flip side of a lot of the crap she had gotten from people during her life. Fortunately, he started speaking before she could make things awkward. "So you're the Amazonian princess my brother can't stop talking about." 

"Tyrion," Jaime sighed as Brienne felt her cheeks flush.

"Oh come on, you know I'm right. I've heard the story repeatedly, about how you single-handedly rescued Christmas."

Jaime was also flushing, which made her feel slightly better.

Tyrion was an engaging conversationalist and also an avid collector of rare books, which explained a bit of why the Christmas gift had been so important to the Lannister brothers. Brienne talked about books with Tyrion and watched him needle Jaime, who threw back comments just as readily. She felt a pang for her brother, which she pushed aside.

Tyrion told a story about his other favorite book from when he was a child, and how their sister, Jaime's twin Cersei, had thrown it into the pool during a tantrum. Jaime had jumped into the pool, fully clothed, to rescue it. Brienne forcibly reminded herself that Jaime had been a child when this happened to erase the mental image of Jaime climbing out of a pool in his tux, soaking wet.

"Which is why we are all grateful that dear Cersei is in Hollywood with her third husband right now. And with that," Tyrion concluded, looking at his watch, "I will be off. My lovely wife is expecting me to be home to ring in the new year with her, as it's the last peaceful one we'll have for a while. Brienne, it was a delight to meet you. I look forward to seeing you again." He shook her hand and inclined his head before disappearing into the crowd. 

Brienne looked over at Jaime, who was rubbing the back of his head with his hand. "So."

"So. That's my brother. Meeting Tyrion is an experience, I should have warned you."

She shook her head and got up, feeling slightly dizzy despite not having consumed any alcohol yet. Speaking of which, a stiff drink would be welcome right then. "I think I'll go check out the bar after that. I should let you get back to your girlfriend." 

Jaime paused. "You mean Pia? She's my assistant." Her expression must have been disbelieving, because his voice went flat. "Yes, she's my assistant. No, I am not sleeping with her."

Brienne stiffened. "I wasn't implying you were." Thinking it, but in the context of girlfriend, not employee.

Jaime ran a hand over his beard, his shoulders going back down. "Shit. I'm sorry. That was a reflex." He put his hands into his pockets. "I hired Pia because she was the only candidate for the position who managed to make me laugh during her interview. I didn't think about what it would look like until several of the executives - men who I had the power to fire - started talking to my face about what my 'real reason' for hiring her must have been. It was…"

"Disgusting?"

"Enraging."

"Did you? Fire them?"

The smile on his face was sharp rather than pleasant. "Just the one, but it got the message across. Though I admit, I wanted him fired anyway for being grossly incompetent and a huge dick anyway." 

Jaime gestured and they started walking toward the bar but he stopped after only a few feet as their path was blocked by an older man with a closely trimmed beard and razor sharp eyes. Jaime's body language shifted to someone Brienne hardly recognized. He looked like the embodiment of a spoiled rich man. "Father."

"Jaime. Aren't you going to introduce me to your guest?"

Some wordless conversation passed between the two men before Jaime turned to her. "Brienne Tarth, this is my father, Tywin Lannister."

Brienne put on her best business face and held out her hand, shaking Tywin's firmly the way her grandfather had taught her. "It's nice to meet you, sir. Thank you for inviting me to the party." 

"That was my son's doing," Tywin said. "Tarth, I've heard that name before. Of North Carolina?"

Brienne suppressed a sigh. "Yes. We own some land there."

The older Lannister wasn't falling for her attempt to downplay things. "The island of Tarth. And the former governor?"

"My grandfather's brother. My grandfather and father weren't the type to seek the public spotlight." Brienne most definitely took after her father in that regard. 

"I see," was all Tywin said, though he shot a speculative look at Jaime, who was maintaining his charming and bored façade still. "I expect we will see one another again, Miss Tarth." 

Brienne let out a sigh of relief as Tywin moved on, which had nothing on the gust of air Jaime let out. "Thank God that's over," he muttered. "Drink?"

"Yes, please."

They reached the bar, where Jaime greeted a red haired man named Addam and introduced Brienne, saying the other man was a close friend of his. She ordered a scotch, neat, plus a glass of ice water. Jaime held up two fingers at the bartender then leaned against the bar in what was supposed to be a casual manner. His expression, however, made her feel like prey being stalked by a lion. "So you own an island."

Addam startled, watching the conversation more closely.

"No I don't."

Jaime's eyebrows went up. "You lied to my father?"

"No I didn't." She sipped her scotch. It wasn't bad. The burn down her throat helped center her mind.

Jaime was watching her expectantly. She wanted to hold out but he leaned closer and she caught a whiff of his cologne. "Brienne." 

"I don't own an island. My father owns most of an island." She grabbed the water glass and drank deeply. 

He rolled his eyes, sharing an amused look with Addam. "Oh, only most of it? How disappointing." 

"My family donated part of the northern shore to the state when they formed a wildlife preserve."

"Of course they did," Jaime laughed, shaking his head at her before he sipped his drink. "I didn't figure you for drinking hard liquor."

"What, women can only drink wine?"

"Or those fruity things with all the sugar that makes you sick as a dog the next day," Addam put in. That was a not-untrue description of Margaery's preferred alcohol intake. 

Brienne drank another sip. "My father's family emigrated from Scotland. We have a couple cases of scotch from there, handed down over time. I got my first taste when I graduated high school – just a sip of course. When I finished college my father gave me a bottle of my own. I keep it for special occasions." 

"I'm guessing it's better than this."

"Well, yes."

Jaime laughed again, holding out his glass to her. She clinked her own against it and they both downed the remainder of their drinks. She didn't know what to make of the way he was smiling at her. Normally when men smiled at her she got suspicious, especially men who looked like Jaime. 

Of course, then he stole her water glass and drank the rest of it before she could stop him. 

Jaime moved toward the area where couples were swaying to the music provided by the band. "Dance with me." 

Brienne hesitated, glancing around the room, which had filled up, aware that she was still sticking out of the crowd and being seen on the dance floor with Jaime was just going to intensify the scrutiny. "I'm not much of a dancer."

He scoffed. "Please, the way you move?"

She went still, decades of insults reverberating through her memory as she waited for the verbal punch that came whenever a man mentioned how she looked. 

Jaime noticed her reaction and his mouth fell open in alarm while his neck and ears turned red. "I didn't mean… that wasn't…"

Addam covered his mouth with his hand as he started to choke. He was laughing and Brienne bristled until she heard Addam mutter, "Smooth, Jaime."

Jaime glared at him and turned back to Brienne. "I just thought, you seem very, uh, athletic."

"Athletic," she repeated, her voice emotionless. It was true, at least? And hardly the worst thing she'd been called by a man.

"You, you know, with your…" he gestured at her body.

"My _what_ , exactly?" 

"You're very tall," Jaime finally mumbled. "And muscles. You have a lot of them." His eyes slid over her legs and then up along her arms and her shoulders. His gaze seemed appreciative rather than judgmental or dismissive? 

Brienne had no idea what to do. "Thank you? I think."

Addam was silently laughing his ass off watching the two of them. Jaime sighed. "Just come and dance, please?"

She couldn't come up with a reason to say no, so she took Jaime's outstretched hand and followed him into the crowd on the dance floor. The band – a full orchestra, of course, nothing as uncouth as recorded music or a DJ for the Lannisters, naturally – was playing some old song she half-recognized from her grandfather's records. 

Jaime held her hand loosely, his arm slipping around the small of her back. She tried not to look down at her feet, but looking at his face just reminded her of how much taller she was even in the short heels she was wearing. It made her feel like a big, lumbering ox and hyperaware of the people around them who were probably staring at the ugly woman towering over the golden Lannister son. She stared at Jaime's shoulder instead as they swayed back and forth. 

The song ended and they clapped politely. "I'm sorry," Jaime told her under the cover of the applause. "I shouldn't have pushed you." His expression was blank, which confused her.

"What?"

He gestured back toward the bar, indicating for Brienne to walk ahead of him, polite mask still firmly in place. "You can't even look me in the eye. I shouldn't have pressured you to dance with me." 

Shit. She hadn't realized Jaime would think that. "Oh. No, it wasn't you." 

The band had started to play another song and they were becoming conspicuous – even more so – just standing there not dancing. Jaime hesitantly took her hand and drew her close when she didn't resist and they started dancing again. "So what's wrong? And don't say nothing."

"I…" the words stuck in her throat, but she didn't want to hurt his feelings, "It's not that I don't want to dance with you, I just feel… I don't usually do things like this."

"You mean dance?"

"Well, that too. Not in public, anyway." Now that she thought of it, Brienne couldn't remember the last time she had danced even in private, not counting the occasional air drumming while driving her car. "I usually try not to draw any more attention to myself, especially in a room full of people. It's not like I can hide anyway, but making a spectacle of myself doesn't help."

"I wouldn't call this a spectacle," Jaime observed, glancing at them both. A grin started to form around his mouth. "We're barely moving. Now if I tried to dip you backwards, that would grab some attention." 

She tightened her grip on his hand, torn between amusement and anxiety. "Don't you dare." 

The grin had become a full-blown smirk. "Why not? I can do it, I'm strong enough." 

Privately, Brienne had to admit the biceps she could feel underneath his coat meant he probably was. Aloud she just hissed, "Not helping."

"Am I allowed to spin you or is that still to too showy?" He was still smiling, but it seemed gentler, somehow.

"Can you reach that high?" she shot back without thinking.

He gave her what Sansa would have called an "epic side-eye" and lifted his arm, his other hand pushing gently at her side. Brienne spun carefully, mindful of the other people around them, and let him pull her back. She ended up closer to him than she'd been before. 

"There. Was that so bad?" 

She thought she could hear some people talking nearby but nobody seemed to be saying anything specifically about her, or if it was, it wasn't loud enough to hear. "I suppose not."

"You shouldn't hide," Jaime said after a minute of them circling around. Brienne lifted her eyes from where her hand was draped over his shoulder and looked at him. "You shouldn't let jealous assholes keep you from doing what you want."

She chuckled at that. No one had ever been jealous of Brienne in the entire course of her life, she was sure. 

Jaime seemed to sense her disagreement. "I mean it. Lions do not concern themselves with the opinions of sheep." 

Her eyebrows went up. "What was that again?"

"Something my father says. I've always thought it was merely an expression of Lannister arrogance, but you're making me rethink things."

The song ended and they clapped again. This time they left the dance floor but before they could reach the bar again, they were intercepted by a short, round woman in a dark red dress. "Jaime! There you are!" 

"Hi Aunt Genna." Jaime smiled at the older woman and hugged her before turning to introduce Brienne. 

Though her expression was far more welcoming, Brienne thought Genna had to be related to Tywin given how sharp her gaze was as it ran over her. But her smile seemed genuine, "Aren't you just stunning! I heard through the grapevine that you restore antiques?"

"I'm a conservator," Brienne explained, adding a basic sketch of what Sapphire Isle did. 

"That sounds fascinating. You must come meet my friend Alayne, she has an old family painting she's been wanting to get looked at. Jaime, you can survive without your date for a little while, I'm sure?"

Brienne's heart jumped at the d-word. Jaime held his hands up in surrender. "I know better than to argue, Aunt Genna." 

For the next hour or so, Brienne slid from one conversation to the next after Genna's first introduction. It was fairly close to what she had been expecting for this evening - rich people who owned ridiculously expensive things that they wanted restored. Brienne gave up on subtlety after a little while and just handed out business cards to nearly every person she met. 

She only realized how much time had passed when the conductor of the orchestra announced that it was two minutes to midnight. She had been intending to leave before this. Regardless of any silly fantasies, she knew the reality of standing awkwardly in a crowd of people hugging and kissing at midnight wasn't something she wanted to experience. But she didn't want to flee for the doors, and she couldn't leave without finding Jaime to thank him for inviting her.

_Bathroom_ , she thought. She could duck into the ladies room and come back out after the countdown. 

Genna was occupied, so Brienne slipped through the throng, aiming for a waiter to ask where the bathrooms were when her path was blocked. 

"There you are. I've been looking for you since they started the five minute countdown!" Jaime was holding two flutes of champagne in his hand. He offered her one, which she took without thinking. Then his arm wrapped around her waist and he steered her to the side of the room as the crowd around them grew even noiser as the last 30 seconds started on the clock. Brienne noted more than one person watching them walk, especially a few women who seemed to be glaring at her in particular.

Jaime stopped when they were behind a large potted ficus tree that partially hid them from the rest of the room. The countdown was at 15 seconds by then.

His arm remained around her but Jaime didn't move any closer. He looked almost nervous. "Is this okay?"

As people behind her started to shout "Ten… nine…" Brienne realized what he intended. He had moved them somewhere private so they wouldn't be in front of everyone, and he wanted to kiss her.

_Jaime wanted to kiss her._

This kind of thing didn't happen to Brienne. It was something straight out of a movie, the awkward heroine going to the ball and getting kissed at the stroke of midnight by the handsome prince – or lion, in this case. 

But it was happening and a tiny furrow appeared on his forehead when she didn't reply. 

"Four… three…"

It was too loud to be heard and she wasn't sure what to say, so she just nodded at him.

"Two…"

Jaime closed the gap between them and kissed her. Brienne smiled against his mouth at his eagerness, she couldn't help it.

"One... Happy New Year!"

She drew back just enough for the kiss to end. Jaime followed for a moment before he got the hint. His tongue flicked out over his lower lip and warmth rolled through her body, all the way down to the tips of her toes. She touched his face with her free hand. "Happy New Year, Jaime."

He gave her that bright, sweet smile, leaning into her palm slightly. "Happy New Year, Brienne."

Her hand slipped around his neck to draw him close and this time, she kissed him.


End file.
